So today I'm wondering why it is that the spare tire, up under my X-TERRA, has to be installed with the air valve stem up where you can't get at it.Also why the rubber stowage dust cover works better holding dust in than out.Also why, when I decided to drive this day to stay in the vehicle's air conditioning, I was rolling around on the ground with ants, and a mom with her twenty-some-odd baby spiders, in 100º heat (Near some weeds with pricker spines.)Once again Robin and I were without wood blocking for the scissor-jack but we were able to make do with brittle, fracture prone, flat rock Having along three cans of, "Fix-A-Flat," and two kits of tire repair plugs with rubber cement, a 12V tire air-compressor, plus a good spare, may sound like over-kill but we still were short of stuff sufficient to rescue ourselves and still have a back up plan for the trip back to civilization.I plan to address this situation. ( )

After driving to the west coast for last year's Otto at Dockweiler meet I was thinking of visiting Bill and friends in New Mexico. Unfortunately the detour was a bit too long and I wasn't able to make it. But in reading this account about Little Florida Mt. it could be that it was better that I didn't pay a visit!

Only kidding.

At some point, if I get the chance, I'd love to fly at one or more of your local New Mexico flying sites.

And here's to hoping you all avoid similar transport mishaps in the future!

MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018:This was a good day for aviation! Bill Cummings picked me up at 8:00 am, and by 11:15 he was on the ramp at the Little Floridas with his Sport 2, ready to go. This would be his first flight since heart surgery in January. At 11:18 he said, "Clear!" and I jumped out of the way. The skies were cloudless and blue, the wind was coming in about 20 mph, and Bill's launch was flawless - and very quick. He took one step and shot up off the ramp, like some angelic holy ascension. By the time I could look around Bill was 100 feet above me, and still shooting up. He started working the ridge lift, and the abundant thermals, so I did what any good driver does: I got out a paint brush and a can of stain, and put a fresh coat of it on the plywood ramp. Bill tried to provide some shade, but hovering wasn't quite in the cards today; I just waved whenever his shadow came over. By 11:45 I was back at his car, loading everything up, and headed down the mountain. Bill got 3,000 ft over the mountain! But his faithful driver (me) wasn't down to the bottom yet, so instead of going XC he hung out near the launch. By the time I did bottom out, so had the thermals. I didn't quite reach the LZ before Bill did, but I tried, and saw in the distance as he executed a perfect flare and a no-wind landing. (Yeah, that's odd, considering the winds we saw at launch.) Bill Cummings is back! He had an hour and 27 minutes of air time, and in every way appeared to be just as expert an aviator as ever. Good job, Bill! Let's do it again, ASAP. (Note: He looked so impressive that the Campground Host at Rockhound State Park came driving up with her dog, just to find out more.) -Robin

RobinHastings wrote:MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018:This was a good day for aviation! Bill Cummings picked me up at 8:00 am, and by 11:15 he was on the ramp at the Little Floridas with his Sport 2, ready to go. This would be his first flight since heart surgery in January. At 11:18 he said, "Clear!" and I jumped out of the way. The skies were cloudless and blue, the wind was coming in about 20 mph, and Bill's launch was flawless - and very quick. He took one step and shot up off the ramp, like some angelic holy ascension. By the time I could look around Bill was 100 feet above me, and still shooting up. He started working the ridge lift, and the abundant thermals, so I did what any good driver does: I got out a paint brush and a can of stain, and put a fresh coat of it on the plywood ramp. Bill tried to provide some shade, but hovering wasn't quite in the cards today; I just waved whenever his shadow came over. By 11:45 I was back at his car, loading everything up, and headed down the mountain. Bill got 3,000 ft over the mountain! But his faithful driver (me) wasn't down to the bottom yet, so instead of going XC he hung out near the launch. By the time I did bottom out, so had the thermals. I didn't quite reach the LZ before Bill did, but I tried, and saw in the distance as he executed a perfect flare and a no-wind landing. (Yeah, that's odd, considering the winds we saw at launch.) Bill Cummings is back! He had an hour and 27 minutes of air time, and in every way appeared to be just as expert an aviator as ever. Good job, Bill! Let's do it again, ASAP. (Note: He looked so impressive that the Campground Host at Rockhound State Park came driving up with her dog, just to find out more.) -Robin

SUNDAY, JULY 15, 2018:Bill Cummings and I went out for another adventure today at the Little Floridas. All went according to plan, with a forecast for west winds about 12 mph by late afternoon. All until I actually launched at 4:06 pm MDT. Where's the lift? I really couldn't find anything to work, despite many dustdevils in the region and a lot of building cumulus (and cumulo nimbus) clouds all around. Within 4 minutes I was on the ground, a good landing into a strong north wind. (Yes, north. So much for forecasts...) Bill and I had the glider on the X-Terra and were headed for home by 5:30 pm, when we noticed just how dark and threatening everything in the sky was getting. We paused 20 minutes at Akela Flats, on the way back to Las Cruces, just to avoid a brownout; a massive dust storm, the result of outfall from the thunderstorms, looked like a fine phenomenon to avoid. But all was still dry in Las Cruces when we arrived about 7:00 pm. It was a pretty long trip for a sled ride, but nice to be in the air again - and to be on the ground before the downpours hit.-Robin

RobinHastings wrote:SUNDAY, JULY 15, 2018:Bill Cummings and I went out for another adventure today at the Little Floridas. All went according to plan, with a forecast for west winds about 12 mph by late afternoon. All until I actually launched at 4:06 pm MDT. Where's the lift? I really couldn't find anything to work, despite many dustdevils in the region and a lot of building cumulus (and cumulo nimbus) clouds all around. Within 4 minutes I was on the ground, a good landing into a strong north wind. (Yes, north. So much for forecasts...) Bill and I had the glider on the X-Terra and were headed for home by 5:30 pm, when we noticed just how dark and threatening everything in the sky was getting. We paused 20 minutes at Akela Flats, on the way back to Las Cruces, just to avoid a brownout; a massive dust storm, the result of outfall from the thunderstorms, looked like a fine phenomenon to avoid. But all was still dry in Las Cruces when we arrived about 7:00 pm. It was a pretty long trip for a sled ride, but nice to be in the air again - and to be on the ground before the downpours hit.-Robin

I'm glad you put the GoPro on my glider keel, Bill - that was quite instructive! My turns didn't work very well, and there really wasn't much to work out there. After looking at the storm clouds, though, I'm kind of glad the lift didn't happen. Better to be on the ground, wishing you were in the air...-Robin

Yesterday, Saturday November 17, 2018, Sam and I (Bill) helped Juan with an Assisted Windy Cliff Launch (AWCL).Juan was able to circle in thermals to gain near 1,000' of altitude above the launch site. He reported being even with the top of the Big Florida Mountains, SSW of the Little Florida Mountains.This launch site is a non regulated site open to flyers with the equivalent experience of a H2 skill rated pilot.I put my GoPro on the keel of Juan's glider but the battery was charged two days earlier and while waiting for service it leaked out about 49 minutes of battery life. So the battery ran out before the landing so thatwas not captured. Even if Juan hadn't waited 14 minutes on the ramp for the wind to die down the batterystill would not have lasted long enough to video the landing. https://youtu.be/GswmF4QKvyY